I agree. Some of my best machines are the ones that have been dinged up a bit from use. (An added benefit is that you don't have to worry about blemishing a pristine vintage machine, if that's your inclination.) Another possibility is that the stiffer 99 could use a flushing out to remove old oil residue that's turned to varnish causing drag on the mechanism. I use kerosene for the job because it's cheap and effective. (I try not to use it inside, but the odor dissipates pretty quickly after clean up.) I only mention this because I've had near-miraculous results with this method on machines that seemed OK but were transformed into Swiss timepieces.
185s were made between the halcyon years of 1958 and 1963. Your J is Canadian made.
Straight-stitchers are soothing to use. I swear they've saved me a fortune in psychiatrist bills.